


fruit slices

by Anonymous



Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alcohol, Drinking, Drugs mention, Happy Ending, Implied Suicide Attempt, college partying mention, injury mention, intentionally reckless driving, lack of lab safety, pain pills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: G-man, after being absent for 30 odd years, is back in Tommy's life. Tommy doesn't take it well.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 53
Collections: Anonymous





	fruit slices

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I'm projecting onto Tommy.
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm okay and I haven't done any of the things Tommy does in this fic. Stay safe, everyone. I love you <3

Tommy was an orphan. 

G-man knew this was what Tommy upheld and he thought it unfortunate. But it was justified. G-man wasn’t really ready to have a kid as Tommy wasn’t expected. He just sorta came into existence much like a bug does in computer code. A glitch. A fragment of G-man’s arm blown off in an experiment that grew into an entirely new person. As mandated by his government job, G-man was forced to abandon the kid in the orphanage until he ranked up further. 

To G-man, Tommy was his goal, the driving point in his life. G-man could care less about Black Mesa but the company promised him the option of adopting Tommy if G-man helped get their projects on time. Finally, after 7 long years, G-man found himself staring at the tiny chip off of himself at Dunkin Donuts. The boy had a huge yet nervous smile plastered on his face, red and yellow propeller hat on his head. Tommy gently swung his legs back and forth before speaking up. 

“So, Mister Dad…” Tommy started, tapping his fingers on the cup he had his hands on. “Since you adopted me, do I get your last name?!”

“Uh…” G-man said, looking to the side nervously. He didn’t have a last time, he simply was G-man, short for Government man as his whole life was consumed by. “I don’t have a last name.” 

G-man saw Tommy’s smile drop and briefly panicked. He didn’t want to mess up his only chance with his son. 

“...Because…” G-man continued, a nervous smile prickling his face. “You get...to choose…”

“Really?!” Tommy said, slamming his hands on the table, pushing himself towards G-man. G-man flinched from the sudden change in emotion but Tommy’s smile was infectious and he found himself giving a loose smile back. The boy had chosen the last name “Coolatta” and G-man found it fitting. Not because it was fitting for him but simply because Tommy had chosen it. Tommy gave him the last name. Tommy, in a sense, gave him a family. 

Before this, G-man was only himself. He worked as he willed for the government, going so far integrated into the system that eventually he accepted the government into his name. But, Tommy, this unexpected fragment of himself, made him something more than the system he worked for. Tommy made him a father. 

The adoption visit was too short. The paper was finalized and Tommy was now officially his son but it was a bittersweet moment. G-man wouldn’t be able to see his son for a while. He had duties to attend to and he had to leave again for his government job. After practically begging the government supervisors for a little more time, G-man was able to hold Tommy’s hand for a bit longer as the boy contently sipped on a soda. 

“Mister Dad, Those people- who are those people?” Tommy asked, looking from the government agents in the corner up to his dad. 

“Don’t...worry about it...Thomas…” G-man said, offering a small smile as he patted the boy’s head. 

“You...aren’t gonna l-leave me, right?” Tommy asked, after an uncomfortable silence. The strange people looked a lot like the people who shuffled him from house to house in the foster system. G-man tensed up and Tommy noted his dad’s behavior. G-man’s heart sank and he could barely look at Tommy.

“I...will have to leave...physically. But...I will always...be with...you” G-man said. Tommy looked up at his dad, his eyes filled with remorse. Tommy didn’t really have a say in the matter and he knew that he could do nothing more to change the tides of the situation. He kept silent and looked down, feeling his father’s eyes on him. 

They remained tethered to each other until the government agents signals the time was up. Tommy, once again, was alone. As G-man was shipped back to Black Mesa, he found himself hoping that Tommy’s powers remained dormant and that he would stay as far away from Black Mesa as possible. G-man couldn’t bear to think of his own son being put through the same treacherous and painful situations he was in. 

Watching from a distance, G-man saw Tommy’s eventual collision course with Black Mesa. It was obvious Tommy was intelligent. To earn his PhD, he made an immortal dog, something G-man had even struggled to make. G-man realized that it would be foolish to try to keep Tommy from Black Mesa, a place that attracted all the great minds in the world. In fact, when he was Tommy’s age, Black Mesa captured the interests of G-man too. Like father, like son.

He hoped his son would arrive at Black Mesa as a scientist, not as a test subject. 

Though there was some hush talk about placing Tommy into a test subject status due to his relation to G-man, the man’s brilliant mind managed to keep him safe and as a scientist. G-man would be lying if he wasn’t slightly grateful that Tommy ended up at Black Mesa though. G-man had full clearance to go anywhere at any time within the clearance meaning that it was a lot easier to keep an eye on Tommy and watch from a distance compared to when Tommy was living miles away in Florida. 

Tommy's response to his father’s entrance back into his life was rocky. It had been at least 30 years since he saw the man in person other than the occasional glimpse in the corner of his eye. But G-man was optimistic and once he got the clearance to leave Black Mesa, he showed up on the doorstep to Tommy’s house. 

Tommy was less than thrilled but he allowed G-man in.  
“How...has my little...Thomas...been?” G-man asked, happy to finally see his son in person for longer than 3 minutes. 

“Little? I’m- I’m 36, in case you haven’t noticed.” Tommy said, crossing his arms. He had been patronized by his coworkers on a daily basis so when being called little, he had to “prove” himself in a sense. He threw out his arms to gesture at the house around them. “I’m 36; I have a mortgage and everything.”

The two fell into silence, before G-man spoke up and tried again:

“I haven’t...seen you in a....while” 

“Yeah? So, now why- why are you back into my life, now? I’ve been working at Black Mesa for 3 years already.” Tommy said, bitterly. When Tommy first arrived at Black Mesa, the company told him everything about his past--the experiment accident in which he was produced, his power and where his dad was. In seeing that his dad was working there too, Tommy was hopeful that he and his father would reunite. However, as weeks turned to months and months turned to years, Tommy’s hope slowly disintegrated into disappointment and eventually ended up becoming anger. 

“The...government finally granted...me to leave…” G-man said, looking towards Tommy. 

“Why did you think I’d let YOU back into my life? You’ve been spotty at best and down-right absent all the other times.”

“I thought...you might want to...learn about your powers…”

“So, that’s what is it? You’ve here to teach me about my powers? I’ve known about my patterns; I’ve struggled with- The powers have been a struggle and draining. Black Mesa didn’t even allow me into the testing program so I could figure out what they were. But- But besides that, why are you here?” 

“For...you” 

“Really? Just for me? Not even an apology? What do you want- really want? An heir or something?”

G-man didn’t know how to respond. He was there now, with Tommy, for the foreseeable future. Why did he need to apologize? Wasn’t he there supporting Tommy though it was from the background to the best of his abilities? G-man wanted to ask these questions but he didn’t have to. Tommy continued speaking, devolving into an angry rant: 

“Aren’t gonna apologize for not being there? I knew you were there in the background, watching. I only ever saw you in the corner of my eye or in the reflections off of mirrors. Was it so hard to actually be with me in person? For like, a day? A single day?” 

In saying that, Tommy thought back to the times in which he struggled. Sure, he had a place to stay, he had food, air, water, all the things necessary to live. But, in addition to that, he had questions. So. Many. Questions. Why was he left alone? Was he not good enough? Why did G-man have to leave? Was Tommy really that bad at being a son? Why did he get tired so easily? Why did his eyes have a slight glow to them? Why was it hard to speak, like his mouth wasn’t designed to speak out words? 

“The shit I’ve had to go through and figure out myself. Never there for graduations--did you know I won four awards? That was more awards than everyone else. I thought if I did better, you would show up. But, you didn’t.” 

Tears were beginning to well up in Tommy’s eyes, a sob beginning threatening to slip out. But, he gulped and shoved it down along with all the questions. His mind flickered back to the time he regretted even existing if there was no one to love him or even accept him. How hard he cried when he was so, so alone as if he hoped the tears would fill the empty void. He was purposely careless in college, hoping that something would save him and take him from Earth. It was a cry out to the universe for help, for pity. But none came. 

He wasn’t like that anymore, though. He lived for himself, for Sunkist, but that didn’t mean the bad habits didn’t go away. He still drove recklessly and smoked though, without the bad intentions behind it. Well, mostly without the bad intentions. There was a little inkling that still remained in his mind saying that he would be okay if something did help him along. He didn’t have support, he only had himself.

“You weren’t there when it fucking mattered.” Tommy spat, his teeth forcefully clenched together.

“I had...duties” G-man said, speaking up. It hurt to see his son like this. He didn’t expect this to happen. 30 years wasn’t that long, right? 

“Yeah, you had your duties--as- as a father and look what you did with that? You neglected me. Left me alone. I always knew I was different but I didn’t find that out until 3 years ago. With no help from you. You could have at least told me I wasn’t human.”

So much for the “human experience”. He was a freak. And G-man, the only other person like him, wasn’t even there to at least inform him he wasn’t “human”. 

“Thomas…” 

“Please. Just leave.” Tommy said, looking away. The tears were slipping out and his nose was running. G-man made a move to approach Tommy, perhaps to hug and comfort him. Tommy balled his fisted and shot his father a glare. G-man left. After the door shut, Tommy collapsed into a nearby armchair, and hunched over, elbows on knees and face buried in his hands. He knew he wasn’t angry, he was well aware that anger was a secondary emotion. 

Tommy angrily flicked the tears from his face, hands moving up to pull at his hair. Why, why, why, why, why? Why was G-man back when Tommy finally managed to accept that he was unwanted? 

Tommy got up and stumbled to the kitchen, not caring what he knocked over. He opened the cabinet containing wine. Tommy actually liked the taste of wine, how sweet it was and how it made him feel professional and put together. There were also several fun fruity combinations. But, he wasn’t there for the wine. It was for the vodka he kept hidden away in the back. He hadn’t touched it since he got his doctorate. 

It was stuck, purposely wedged between the wood and the other bottles so it would discourage his usage of it. He tugged on it, knocking another wine bottle to the floor causing it to shatter. He swore and further crushed the glass beneath the shoe. He heard Sunkist’s paws click against the tile floor. He knew Sunkist was gonna try to stop him so Tommy uncapped the bottle, fumbling a bit due to the tears blurring his vision and he chugged down the remaining vodka, some spilling on his shirt.

Afterwards, he slammed the bottle down on the counter, leaning against it. Eventually, Tommy slid to the floor, not caring that the rose wine soaked in, staining his khaki pants. He let out a small, choked sob as his head suddenly felt a little bit lighter. It was pitiful and he knew it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sunkist approach him, nudging at his arm. Tommy pet the dog’s head as if to comfort her. 

“It’s gonna be alright” Tommy mumbled half to himself and half to Sunkist, his voice cracking. He began to sob again, this time burying his face into Sunkist’s golden fur. Tommy didn’t get any sleep that night. 

The next day at work, he showed up looking like a ghost, clearly tired. He would have skipped except he never did. He didn’t want anyone to think anything was wrong. His head hurt, he was dizzy and there were bags under his eyes. He managed to get rid of the redness in his eyes and face with loads of ice-cold water but nothing more. He was hungover, he knew this much and so did his coworkers. 

“Looks like someone had fun last night” He heard a coworker exclaim. 

“Haha, yeah. It’s getting a bit harder to party so often now” Tommy said, giving an off-handed wave as he walked towards the break room to grab some pain pills. He hated the feeling of pills going down his throat so he fixed up a small comfort drink--orange juice. It wasn’t exactly orange juice but rather marmalade mixed in hot water. It was like something between the lines of tea and warm orange juice. 

The pain pills didn’t do much. It slipped Tommy’s mind that citrus affects medications but the drink still provided comfort to him. He used to make the drink back in college. That time, he was low on cash and didn’t have any tea, hot chocolate mix or even strawberry mix, just a jar of untouched marmalade in the fridge. He thought it was an ingenious cooking invention. He did have many cooking inventions, some considered more inhuman than others.

He let out a small chuckle and went into the lab room to begin working on the experiment. He was in there for a couple minutes before seeing something odd which wasn’t there before.

It was a place of carefully sliced oranges and lemons. 

Tommy stared at the plate and saw his father in the corner of his eye. He felt G-man’s presence leave quickly after that and he stared at the plate in wonder. Tommy didn’t know what to feel. Should he throw it away? He hated his father- I mean, food in the lab wasn’t to OSHA standards. 

Tommy felt his eyes fill up with tears but not from spite. It was a different feeling in his aching heart. He knew that parents typically gave their kids sliced fruit. 

But why? 

Then he realized it. It wasn’t a plate of sliced citrus fruits; It was an invitation. Fruit slices were a little gift from parents to their children to tell them that they care, to tell them that they’re sorry, to tell them that they’re here and to tell them that they love them. Fruit slices weren’t a laborious task, it only took 5 minute max but the fact the action was taken and the time was put into it gave it that meaning. 

Tommy sighed. G-man must not know lemons weren’t usually eaten for fun. Regardless, Tommy reached his hand out to pick up one of the fruit slices. 

Well, when life gives you lemons, maybe we can start over.

**Author's Note:**

> Dunkin' Donuts scene inspired by this post: https://mysteriie.tumblr.com/post/625533964725207040/i-think-about-tommy-mr-coolatta-lore-every


End file.
